NFL Recap: Week 5

The fifth week of NFL football was a week of frustration for many teams and a week that set others back on track.

Blake Bortles crashed and burned, the Giants’ solid offensive performance wasn’t enough to beat the Panthers, Mason Crosby had one of his worst games ever and Drew Brees set the all-time passing yards record in front of a home crowd on Monday night.

The Jaguars lost to the unbeaten Chiefs 30-14 in an embarrassing fashion. Blake Bortles threw four interceptions, including a pick-six to Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones, and an interception that deflected off his own lineman’s helmet.

The Jaguars defense had a decent showing, forcing two interceptions from Patrick Mahomes in one of his worst games so far this season, but were unable to contain the Chief’s offense with rushing touchdowns from Kareem Hunt and Mahomes. Jacksonville’s hot and cold performance this season makes it difficult to take them seriously as a Super Bowl contender.

Odell Beckham Jr. was all over the field on Sunday; he threw a touchdown to Saquon Barkley, and returned kickoffs and punts. That, and Barkley’s two receiving touchdowns were not enough to secure the win in the end, losing 33-31 after a 63-yard last-minute field goal by Panther’s kicker Graham Gano that tied the NFL record for longest game-winning field goal.

The Steelers got back on track with a 41-17 win against the Falcons to improve to 2-2-1.

Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown’s on-field connection resurfaced, with Roethlisberger throwing two touchdowns to Brown who also had six receptions for 101 yards.

Drew Brees solidified himself as one of the greats on Monday night when he broke the all-time passing record set by Peyton Manning in 2015, and led the Saints to a 43-19 win against the Redskins.

Mason Crosby had one of the worst kicker performances in history in Green Bay’s loss to Detroit on Sunday, missing four out of his five field goals and one extra point attempt. Crosby is a 12-year veteran, and has been clutch for the Packers with a 26/29 playoff resume, so the Packers should hope that his performance this week isn’t indicative of his play for the rest of the season, especially since the Packers have a chance to win the very tight NFC North.

Last year’s Super Bowl Championship Eagles have continued to struggle despite the return of Carson Wentz, now dropping to 2-3 with a 23-21 loss to the Vikings. Wentz and Kirk Cousins both had solid games with neither of them throwing any interceptions, but the Vikings defense had the edge with a 63-yard touchdown by lineman Linval Joseph off a Wentz fumble. The Eagles should be concerned going into week six after a slow start this season, and their offense needs more production if they are going to win the NFC East.

The Jets offense came alive in their win against the Broncos with 512 yards of total offense against a spiraling Broncos defense. Isaiah Crowell ran for 219 yards, a franchise record, and one touchdown off a 77-yard run. Sam Darnold threw three touchdowns, one of which was a spot-on pass to Robby Anderson for 76 yards.

Darnold’s accuracy issues could be a problem for the Jets as the season goes on, but if he continues to finish drives in the end zone and lead his offense the way he did on Sunday, the Jets could exceed expectations for the season.

Finally, the Browns won 12-9 in overtime against the Ravens in a game that was basically a kicking competition. Both offenses were productive but couldn’t seem to find the end zone, excluding Baker Mayfield’s one touchdown. The Browns haven’t won two games in a season since 2015, and it’s only week six. Maybe they’ll have a record-breaking season, by Browns’ standards at least.

Sommer Thomas is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email her at set5283@psu.edu.